Michael Hiltzik concludes that online learning at San Jose State University is a failure.

My experience says he’s off base. My son (19, heading to college in the fall) and I (53, tech CEO, BS/MBA) are taking intro programming at SJSU, one of the courses that Hiltzik decries.

The course has been excellent. I’ve found that the highly interactive nature of online learning has been much more effective than listening to lectures. I’ve been able to work on my own schedule and move at my own pace. At $150 for four college credits, I’d call it a bargain.

Don’t be fooled by the common arguments: that there is a high failure rate, that faculty is pushing back, or that someone will make a buck.

The original article and the letter to the editor are interesting to me in that they represent a microcosm of the debate in education as a whole that we’re having today. From charter schools in K-12 education to specialized and online learning in higher education, there’s an ongoing struggle to decide how far we push things, like access to individualized learning approaches, teacher-to-student ratios, the role of electronica in the classroom, direct versus indirect contact hours, socialization and “real-world” environments, standardized test scoring and other benchmark measures, funding versus efficacy of programs, and on and on and on.

It is unfortunate that Mr. Hiltzik takes one example and blows it out of proportion. My technical profession of Fire Protection Engineering is thriving now because the few schools that offer it have embraced online learning, and the online version actually has a higher graduation rate than the butts-in-seats version.

Do, and will, some universities go too far with it? Yes. Will there be an attempt to make this purely a moneymaker instead of an extension of existing services? Yes. But we already have that in the brick-and-mortar realm in the form of technical and specialized universities (e.g., ITT Tech, Phoenix, etc.), so why is anyone surprised…or reactionary to…it being blasted into the virtual realm, given that it is a natural extension of the real one?

#2 Comment By bevus On August 12, 2013 @ 7:19 am

He is right and YOUR wrong! very few have the discipline to go online or TV in the old days, VCR classes, and go the work, and test without supervision!!! And the intensity of in class, with instructor is invaluable, and the interaction of the class regarding questions and discussion! I know I have done it all since 1964 when they tried on campus closed circuit TV without instructors, which WAS a total failure. ON LINE, is an excuse to get Fed. money and call it a scholarship!!! that is BS, This is all gong toward making an “education” worthless. A degree will be wall paper!

I agree, that higher education has to progress and develop, and old “brick and mortar” and butts in the seats is going by the wayside. It’s not about more bang for the buck but sky rocking cost of higher education. The average cost of college in this past year at a public school is $22k, while a private school is $43k. What parent working today at today’s deflated wages can afford to send their kids to college with that costs?

Higher education must progress and develop into something more effective and efficient, and this includes large online learning courses, especially for those basic courses or pre-req’s. Those of us who spent our finest years in college remember all those required courses and thought “interesting” at times, what a waste they were later. Make’s you “well rounded?” Maybe, but there’s a easier way to get the fundamentals down without spending $900 on a 12 week class in Humanities sitting through lectures 3x week.

The online universities are cashing in on a need, but failing the certification and quality education test. But a combination of online and in-classroom courses is a pretty good idea. Eventually if some universities don’t come up with a more hybrid plan, the students are going to revolt. And what about tech school?

#4 Comment By Robtf777 On August 12, 2013 @ 6:55 pm

Online courses DO serve a purpose……..considering that a LOT of college/university courses that are taught in the classroom are taught NOT by the over-worked research professor who is writing his latest publication……but by “grad students.”

Let’s face it. A LOT of courses simply involves…..absorbing material into the brain via reading and lectures…….and some college professors who have class sizes of 100 – 400 students…….don’t have time for individualized help anyway.

Online courses that involve reading and studying ……absorbing what one reads/studies…..and then regurgitating that knowledge on an online test……is probably no more or less invalid than being one of 200 students in an auditorium and being taught by a grad student.

And since even “computer simulation” is taking the place of dissecting a frog or a pig in many “med classes”……..one has to wonder if the “future of education” is not……at home……which would/could save a ton of money in not building unnecessary elementary, high school, and university buildings……along with all the savings we could/would save on teacher’s salaries.

Various colleges are currently experimenting with “automated computer programs” that can not only grade true-false and multiple choice tests……but can grade essay exams……which means that “online” courses saves commuting time, wear and tear on transportation, frees up space on public buses, and doesn’t require large classrooms or auditoriums to be built.

Online courses and online testing and virtually instantaneous online grading…….allows the student to IMMEDIATELY grasp where he or she is lacking in understanding……where more studying needs to be focused……and simple mistakes in clicking the wrong box can be rectified.

While one can imagine that computers and online studies and even computer simulations won’t make EVERYONE a “brain surgeon”……one CAN imagine that there ARE NUMEROUS fields of study that can be accomplished virtually ALL online.

Think of the……future possibilities: Colleges/Universities in Colorado (and everywhere else) could be GREATLY REDUCED IN SIZE…….because students from all around the country and the world……can take all their Liberal Arts courses online……graduate…..and print out their own frame-able degrees……from the comfort of their own home in Florida……or China……at a minimal cost.

#5 Comment By primafacie On August 13, 2013 @ 1:29 pm

Online education and butts-in-class education are two different ways to reach the same goal. The former works for some, the latter for others. The reasons are as many as there are students.

In the end, how one acquires knowledge isn’t as important as THAT one acquires knowledge.